When cellphones first were introduced, I loved getting on my cell phone while on a highway and talking with friends. It passed the time. Then I almost got into two accidents that would have been caused by ME because I wasn’t being attentive to my driving. That did it. My phone is always off when I’m in the car. I won’t even use Bluetooth. If I absolutely have to use the phone, I pull into a parking lot and stop my car before I use the phone.

I was really surprised by Ado’s post that the Governor of Texas would not ban texting or talking with a hand held phone while driving. We all know there are people who are dead because of cell phone use; moreover, we know there are people who are paralyzed or disabled because of inattentive cell phone users. I find those situations appalling. I support keeping phones off unless the drivers pull off the streets.

We used to be told to drive defensively because of drunk drivers. Now I drive defensively when I see people driving while on their phones.

Your rights are protected to do many things that are crazy and dangerous to other people here.

People complain about California and all the regulations, but ya know, regulations, at least some of them, if they are enforced, can actually keep people alive.

I'm all for personal freedom as long as ones actions only affects themselves. I don't necessarily support seat belt or helmet laws for adults . If you want to be stupid about it should be your right. However when personal neglect can potentially harm others than there should be laws protecting all of us.

Well since my previous example wasn't clear, I typically drive while listening to audiobooks and more recently while listening to a Spanish lesson thing that has gaps to respond. My point was that I feel just as disconnected from driving, and do just as much autopilot driving when I listen to these and none of these would be prohibited anytime soon.

I realize that the worst problem is texting (or e-mailing) while driving and then close to that is talking on the phone while driving but I don't think that the books I am listening to are that much better than being on the phone. My Spanish thing is pretty much like having a conversation with the recording and I have to pay close attention to avoid going on autopilot.

Of course the better solution would be better public transportation so that I spend most of the long time on the road letting someone else do the driving. When it takes me close to an hour to drive to an event in the evening that is pretty close by I can't help but find something to make that time worthwhile.

Your rights are protected to do many things that are crazy and dangerous to other people here.

People complain about California and all the regulations, but ya know, regulations, at least some of them, if they are enforced, can actually keep people alive.

I'm all for personal freedom as long as ones actions only affects themselves. I don't necessarily support seat belt or helmet laws for adults . If you want to be stupid about it should be your right. However when personal neglect can potentially harm others than there should be laws protecting all of us.

Part of me sides with you, tickets for seat-belt violations are really high. But the persuasive financial side of the argument is that people that get severely injured without a seat belt incur enormous costs, either for the family and insurance, or for public hospitals and the counties that support them.

The cost of bringing them back to health, or supporting them for the rest of their life in a disabled or non-cognitive state is really expensive, and that cost will fall on the tax payers and other people that are in the insurance company tables, those costs get passed along, the same as the cost of obesity gets passed along to a healthy guy that never goes to the hospital.

Well since my previous example wasn't clear, I typically drive while listening to audiobooks and more recently while listening to a Spanish lesson thing that has gaps to respond. My point was that I feel just as disconnected from driving, and do just as much autopilot driving when I listen to these and none of these would be prohibited anytime soon. .

agree about txn, but kids and wives and mums have absolutely no awareness of what you are faced with on the road and usually start a row, bring up nonsense, vomit, scream, chuck something just as you are negotiating a busy roundabout or a difficult lane change. so id want passengers banned before someone takes my bluetooth hands free away.